Europa Universalis IV - After Action Report: Tibet

[Sange]

Voted for the military guy. CHAAAARGE!!!

[SilverLeaf167]

Part 32: Warfare, hot and cold
12th of February, 1694

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The militant Sengge Tashi wins by a landslide. Clearly the nobles' attention span can only bear one peaceful term at a time.



Tashi immediately starts preparing for war, moving the troops closer to the border. Meanwhile, the Ministry of War begins a joint project with the Academy of the Arts to ”spread awareness”, as they put it, of the Imperial Army's invincibility and more realistic might as well. Magnificent poems are written, pictures painted and song sung of the deeds of the brave soldiers and their commanders. The project also has a more peculiar side, involving the optimal use of this propaganda in combat. They figure out new ways to make the army look as impressive as possible without sacrificing effectiveness.



With all this groundwork in place, Tashi declares war on Ming in December of the same year. Ayutthaya is pulled in by their coalition and Korea by their alliance, while Oirat and Dai Viet join Tibet's side. This has the interesting side effect of breaking Oirat and Ayutthaya's pesky alliance.

Though Ayutthaya is sure to fuss around in the south, Tashi decides to focus on the actual target first. The two armies, led by the Prince-Emperor and his brother, march into Shaanxi and Hanzhong. They are both said to be very skilled commanders, some of the best the Empire has ever seen. Oirat's troops also arrive, while Ming decides to futilely invade the horde's undefended lands rather fight their main force.





Though Tibet's own operations are going smoothly and rather peacefully, its allies are doing more harm than good and taking great losses, giving quite a bad impression. After taking over Shaanxi, General Trakpa Tashi moves against the Ming invaders of Oirat to completely wipe them out through superior tactics, organization, technology and sheer genius – with truly negligible losses.



This scene of utter devastation repeats itself as he circles the countryside, leaving thousands of dead enemies in his wake and none of them alive to tell the tale while his own troops are, as they jokingly say, ”losing more people to old age than to the Chinese.” The propaganda apparently wasn't even exaggerating that much.

Some seemingly irrelevant incident in Lhasa has apparently became important enough that the Prince-Emperor is sought out in the field to address it. One of the Heaven Electorate's foremost officials has admitted to hiding some connections with foreign parties, but claims that they hadn't affected his work in the slightest. Instead, he suggests that the Empire might use his contacts to their advantage. However, impatient in the midst of war and with no interest in the other parties' power plays, Tashi dismisses the idea and orders the man suspended from duty for further investigation of his likely treason.



His strict attitude is already starting to affect the rest of the government as well. The Traders have lost their dominant position to the Aristocrats, whom Tashi unrepentantly favors.



The largest battle of the war so far is fought in Baoding, a province in Northern China near the Oirati border. Involving a total of over a hundred thousand troops, the battle sees the General leading an outnumbered Tibetan army against a joint force consisting of all three enemies' armies. While he takes somewhat more losses than usual – Ming's ”weaker” allies are actually much more formidable than them – there is still no dispute over the Tibetans' crushing victory.



Most of the enemy retreats towards Nanjing, which General Tashi is fine with, as that's where he's headed too. Upon arrival, he chases them off again and lays siege to the capital. The crushed enemy limps further south, giving the other Tashi brother an opportunity to humiliate them as well.



These incursions into relatively heavily fortified China have been a good opportunity for the Ministry of War to improve upon. It's become clear that simply aiming enough cannons at the walls isn't always enough. Instead, the Ministry has decided to found a whole new corps of the army, consisting of scientifically trained individuals competent in the proper use of siege weaponry. They know where to aim and when, making sieges a breeze.



Though the war goes very well, Oirat once again makes a white peace about four years into the fighting. They've already outlived their usefulness as a distraction, though. Their odd decision to make an alliance with Korea is sure to complicate things later, though. At least they don't join the war against Tibet. Dai Viet soon drops out as well, leaving Tibet alone and annoyed but by no means overwhelmed.

Phüntso Phuntsok, an important Earthly official in charge of much of the Imperial Army's everyday logistics, approaches Prince-Emperor Tashi with an offer and a huge ”donation”, as if he didn't already favor their party enough. He asks Tashi to make sure the Earth Electorate stays in power and is free to drive Tibet towards its righteous destiny. Tashi was already doing that anyway, but doesn't mind the money either.



The Ministry of Enlightenment has finished its own, much more quiet project. Happy with Tibet's recent interest in education yet disappointed in the teaching's focus, they've made plans for a proper Grand University to be founded in Lhasa. Instead of focusing on military, administrative or artistic subjects like the other schools, this place of higher learning would teach all the sciences with no specific goal in mind, creating multidisciplinary experts who would still be of great use to the state. Tashi really couldn't care less, but the Council gives them permission to start constructions while they themselves focus on the promised founding of yet another Ministry.



The quickly increasing size of the Empire has actually been a complicating factor in the everyday lives of many people, especially merchants who have to move goods and information around as quickly as possible. Thus, the Ocean Electorate has made plans for a proper postal system, connecting at least the most important trade cities if not more. As a side project – they finally realize the Council's lack of interest in naval matters – they introduce plans for even larger dock facilities.



By August 1699, the Tashi brothers have already spent at least the past year simply marching around the country until they run into a city, taking nominal control of said city and moving on. The enemy has been crushed many times over and is finally willing to accept Tibet's demands.



Ming agrees to hand over the economically important area around Shaanxi, as well as Tongren further south.



Shaanxi is the next stop from Yumen along the Silk Road. The three new provinces in the region mostly produce rice and other agricultural products, but have a fair-sized Han Chinese population.



Tongren, on the other hand, is inhabited mostly by Cantonese people. They produce plenty of valuable tea, but the province was chosen mostly for its strategic location: the general idea is to gradually sliver down to the coast, where the really valuable areas are.



The Imperial Army has proven its worth yet again and is truly to be feared. The Ministry of War has made extensive special arrangements to secure more manpower, supplies and funding for the military, so an even larger army could be supported. After all, there's no kill like overkill, right?



As much as Tashi would like to immediately attack Vijayanagar, though, the integration of these new areas is sure to take a while as so many resources have been invested in various other projects around the country.

Shocking news reach Tashi's ears in August 1700. The northern Lushans had declared a war of conquest on Korea a few years back, but most had expected them to only take some of the country's more isolated provinces. Instead, they took a big chunk out of it and carved a way straight through Oirat, who'd joined Korea's struggle, all the way to Tibet's northern border. The Lushan Empire is a gigantic military power originating from the Far West, reported to have over twice as many soldiers as Tibet, and more advanced to boot, as well as a nasty attitude. Until now, they've been safely ignored due to distance from Tibet, but now the threat of a direct conflict is looming on the horizon. To somewhat alleviate the risk and ease people's minds, some efforts are made to improve the (scarce) diplomatic relations between the two Empires, though the Lushans seem rather hostile and unwilling to cooperate. Their foreign missionaries are banned from entering the country and spreading their strange faith.



There is a sudden concern that Tibet's military dominance might not be as undisputed as was thought. Sengge Tashi personally commands the admirable Ministry of War, constantly at work, to make sure to do the best they can to improve Tibet's military doctrine even further.



There's no attack right now, though. February 1702 finally arrives, bringing the Council together for another election.



Prince-Emperor Sengge Tashi has proven himself a very capable commander and probably passable ruler, too. However, now that a proper foreign threat stirs for the first time in ages, the best way for Tibet to strengthen itself against the probable onslaught is to fortify its northern border and expand in the other directions. While Malwa's alliance with the Odd Men has proven strong, Vijayanagar and Aceh are sitting ducks and deserve to be liberated!

Ngawang Thekchen of the Heaven Electorate really hopes for the nobles to remember the pleasantness of the last peaceful term and aims to experience it yet again. With less unnecessary warfare, the Empire's resources would be freed to focus on further technological advancement, critical for the stability of Tibet's current standing. The Lushan presence is, intentionally or not, bringing lots of foreign thoughts into the country. If the harmful ones can be shut out and Tibet's identity preserved, this can be a great boon.

Gendun Wangdue of the Ocean Electorate demands that the Empire focus on expanding towards the southern islands, poor in defenses yet rich in money. There are many wealthy trade centers for Tibet to capture and exploit to further fill its coffers, or buy new ones or whatever. Of course, the acquisition of more coastline and ports would also allow for an ever larger navy...

Dayan Tashi of the Earth Electorate is unexpectedly calm by his party's standards. He agrees with Thekchen on the importance of some alone-time and internal growth, but puts more value on military technology. After all, what's pretty architecture going to do against an invasion? Better yet, why not put more focus on the Ministry of War? Surely they've deserved it, having worked so hard for years?

He is the first one to actually remind people that there's another subject of voting too. The candidates are getting sort of repetitive in that one, though, and have actually been reduced to only two opposing schools of thought.


The Principal Ministry of Commerce just keeps trying. They do have a good point, though: Tibet pretty much dominates regional trade and is likely to become even stronger, so the best way to capitalize on that is to... well, capitalize on that. With more funding and such, Imperial traders would have an even better position.


The Principal Ministry of War asks for yet another expansion, which many agree it deserves in this very tense situation. With more resources, it could once again put more effort into things other than simple doctrine. Giving it more authority over equipment and training would result in much higher quality in all fields – the Imperial Army's greatest strength since time immemorial.

Vote for the next Prince-Emperor here! [CLOSED; click to view results]
Vote for the next Ministry here! [CLOSED; click to view results]

Author's notes

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Sorry for the unexpected break! It was a sum of procrastination, a little actual hurry and the new expansion Art of War coming out. While really cool, we can't use any of its features as I had to revert to an older version in order to play this save. Imagine how cool it would be for Paradox to release free converters for incompatible saves...

Welp, Russia! Will we get a repeat of the Timurid wars? I have no idea, but I guess we'll see! They're giving us a hefty neighbor bonus on literally all tech though, so they're welcome as long as they behave I guess.

Oh, and sorry for only giving two Ministry candidates. They're all just... relatively useless right now. At some point I really might just select them myself. Also, you should start paying attention to the policies they unlock (bonuses you can activate when you have two specific Idea groups completed). Trade mostly gives a bunch of rather meh Trade Efficiency, while Quality most importantly gives a good bunch of Discipline. With our own national idea, the next Offensive idea, Quality's own finisher, and those policies, we'd reach a total bonus of +25% Discipline, which is pretty badass.

[Frog Dragon]

Lushan... Lushan... Rushan... Russian...

Oh. That's what it meant. I was wondering if there was some releasable nation in Northern Asia that had gotten popped out and somehow grown unusually strong.

[OrcusMcP]

No, NO! All the candidates have it wrong! The Lushan hold on their new territory is likely spotty at best, so now is the time to STRIKE! Show these strange upstarts to the steppes that Tibet is not to be trifled with!

Will this create danger? Absolutely! Will this risk our glorious soldiers? Absolutely! Will we win? Absolutely!

They will crash upon our mountains like waves upon our shores.

[Rockphed]

No, NO! All the candidates have it wrong! The Lushan hold on their new territory is likely spotty at best, so now is the time to STRIKE! Show these strange upstarts to the steppes that Tibet is not to be trifled with!

Will this create danger? Absolutely! Will this risk our glorious soldiers? Absolutely! Will we win? Absolutely!

They will crash upon our mountains like waves upon our shores.

This is full of awesome and win! It must be pursued!

[SilverLeaf167]

I am very sorry for this unexplained delay and even sorrier that it is likely to continue. The game - or to be more precise, the old version I have to use for this save - has quite simply stopped working. The latest Art of War version, on the other hand, works better than ever. I've tried reinstalling, verifying file integrity and everything, but to no avail, which is odd because the actual problem the game is complaining about is a missing file.

So, unless I find some miracle fix somewhere, I guess this save ain't working. I didn't die, this thread didn't die; the game did. Large updates suck grumble grumble

But hey! This is a Paradox game, it isn't like game-breaking technical issues were unexpected. I guess there's two options. We remember the good old times and put them to rest... or we start a new playthrough. This whole project has been real fun for me. Of course, there might be some slight repetition with the ideas and tech etc. but I'm willing to try. Then the remaining issue is the choice of a nice little republic, since I assume people liked the voting system.

What do you say? Shall we reboot, and how?
Discuss and brainstorm.
Novgorod is real nice but the first few years tend to define your whole game. We did survive as Tibet though...

[Artanis]

A reboot would be cool if you're up for it. Don't want you to force you into anything.

[OrcusMcP]

Well, you did did lots as Tibet already, I think you should load up an Art of War 1444 scenario and just try to unite the Tibetan tribes to see what that's like.

We can accept our glorious Himalayan empire as it was. :)

[Grif]

I demand a Ryazan play thorough.

[IthilanorStPete]

There's at least one Muslim republic in the Gulf of Aden area, though I forget the name. Perhaps you could try that?

[OrcusMcP]

There's at least one Muslim republic in the Gulf of Aden area, though I forget the name. Perhaps you could try that?

Oman, I think? Could be neat.

Considering all the changes done to East/West Africa and Mesoamerica, one of the new states there could be fun!

[Flickerdart]

Unite Japan as the Ainu.

[Terraoblivion]

Yeah, I support restarting but trying as someone else. Maybe Mali. They've been buffed a lot, but you're still ultimately in the way of the Europeans. Not a republic, though.

[SilverLeaf167]

Okay, I think I've narrowed my options down quite a bit, or... not so much really, but here's some general contemplation on the subject.

Western and Central Europe are sorta boring due to the stagnating influence of the Spain, France, England and the Holy Roman Empire, so if I did play an European nation, it would have to be Eastern. Novgorod would be an opportunity for an "alternative" republican Russia. Crimea, the Golden Horde or Kazan would provide some interesting nomad action and also a chance to form Russia under some very odd circumstances. Ryazan and Ragusa would be some very risky republican choices.

The Middle East has some semi-interesting choices, but many of them are rather nondescript and there's very little space to maneuver with imposing empires on three sides. There's a chance of forming the Arabian Empire, though, and maybe colonizing a bit. Probably Oman, Hejaz or Najd.

I'm kind of hesitant to play an African nation due to the horrible tech group slowing everything down so very much, but Eastern Africa has been buffed a lot by giving the countries there Muslim and Indian groups. Ethiopia is the most interesting, with a practically unique religion and plenty of flavor events, but also by far the strongest in the region (not counting the Mamluks). Ajuuraan is one of the only countries in the area with unique national ideas, which I'd really prefer for a variety of reasons (including flavor and roleplay). On the whole, however, gameplay in this area tends to consist of simply conquering either up or down the coast.

Though our Tibet game was set in the general region, the Indian and Indo-Chinese area has been modified radically. There are a lot of countries to choose from, with a wide variety of locations, ideas and power levels. I honestly can't even name most of them. This is probably one of my favorite candidates; I doubt it would be too much of a rehash.

The Americas are meh for many of the same reasons as Western Africa and some more on top. Lots of sitting around, surrounded by wasteland... the new Autonomy system has actually further nerfed countries dependent on colonizing the wasteland around them. Otherwise, there are plenty of interesting choices, especially in Mesoamerica.

Of course, this let's play is ultimately for the readers. If I want to play some generic "favorite" of mine, I can just do that on the side. The choice is up to you guys; if you can't name a specific country, just try to give me some idea about your preferred region, power level, style or whatever. I'm trying to avoid countries I consider practically impossible, though.

[Terraoblivion]

The Sub-Saharan tech group has been buffed. It's only +60% tech cost like the Chinese tech cost now. Unless the tool tips lie.

[SilverLeaf167]

Oh wow, that changes things a bit. Western Africa suddenly became a lot more likely choice. Maybe we could even colonize South America?

[IthilanorStPete]

Unfortunately, the East African country I had in mind (Marehan) isn't a republic naturally; they just switched to one due to rebels in my current game. My inclination would be to go with either the Russian underdogs of Novgorod (if you're decently confident in surviving as them), an Indian power, or a Southeast Asian power. I'd prefer a Hindu one; I'd like to see exploration of the Hindu mechanics/events. Not a lot of republics in the area, unfortunately.

The Sub-Saharan tech group has been buffed. It's only +60% tech cost like the Chinese tech cost now. Unless the tool tips lie.

EDIT: Verified this, it's only a +60% penalty now. Land units aren't totally worthless either, though the available government types are still awful.

[Flickerdart]

Novgorod would be fun. Tricky - Sweden and Muscovy are not your friends - but potentially rewarding. See if you can do things historically and ally wit Lithuania to put down the Russian bear for good.

[Frog Dragon]

The local autonomy is super easy to mod away though. If you want, you can just go to defines.lua, search the colonial autonomy variable and change the "50" to a "0". Poof. Makes being Southeast Asian, African, or Amerindian much less arbitrarily painful.

I understand you had a number of mods running in the Tibet run as well.

Western Africa sounds fun.

Also, Novgorod doesn't put down the Russian bear. Novgorod becomes the Russian bear.

[SilverLeaf167]

Unfortunately, the East African country I had in mind (Marehan) isn't a republic naturally; they just switched to one due to rebels in my current game.

Yeah, I know what you mean. At first I was like "wow, they sure added a lot of republics in India!"... until I realized the area had just been hit by a mysterious wave of revolutions.

The local autonomy is super easy to mod away though. If you want, you can just go to defines.lua, search the colonial autonomy variable and change the "50" to a "0". Poof. Makes being Southeast Asian, African, or Amerindian much less arbitrarily painful.

I understand you had a number of mods running in the Tibet run as well.

I actually did that once, but it kept resetting in-game. I had no idea what caused that, but I think it might simply not affect existent save files for some reason. Don't know if it works with a new save.


Either way, it seems Novgorod is relatively popular. I'll try to get started this weekend, but won't make any final country choice quite yet.

[Frog Dragon]

That sounds strange. I'm pretty sure I was able to mess with autonomy settings with existent savefiles. I did it once while playing Khmer after downloading another hotfix (which poofed my edits).

[SilverLeaf167]

Okay, first chapter of the new series is online!